From Blog To Event: Tips For Pricing & Pitching Your Next Event

Here are 6 tips as you start pricing and pitching your next (or first) blog event:

Pricing

Don’t underestimate your worth

I charged $5.00 per ticket for last year’s show. Sure, the show sold out quickly, but I also ended up spending way more than I made. I increased the ticket price to $15.00 this year for early bird tickets and $20 for general admission. It still sold out, and I made enough to break even. Don’t underestimate the value of what you are offering people.

But, don’t overestimate your worth either

While it’s fun to tout the successes I’ve had with events, one event I was unable to get off the ground was the F-BOMBS roundtable discussion I tried to host last year. There were a lot of things about that event that I did wrong, but the main one was pricing the tickets too high. People pay for food, alcohol and the experience. If they don’t feel like they’re getting a good deal for all of those things, they will pass. In retrospect, I was not offering enough of a deal on those three things to justify a $20 ticket. And without people to fill the room, events do not succeed.

Gratuity and tax are very real

This tip is specifically about planning brunches. I know bloggers love a good brunch! When pricing your event, be sure to include the cost of gratuity and tax in the ticket price, or charge an upfront general admission fee (sidenote: Eventbrite is my favorite ticketing site) that you can contribute toward tax and gratuity. I’ve been at too many brunches where the check circles the table, gets back to the host and $100 dollars is still missing. I don’t think people intend to skip out on the extras, but when enough people do so, it’s a huge cost.

Pitching

Details are everything

The more details you can provide about your event to potential speakers, sponsors and attendees, the better. Recently someone asked me to speak at an upcoming event and she laid out everything—the objectives, the agenda for the day, what sort of attendees she anticipated coming, etc. The more you give people to work with, the more they will see that you have thought things through and are serious about your plan.

Tout previous successes

If you’re hosting something for the second time and it sold out the first time, say that. If your blog gets 10,000 hits a month, cite that. Whatever you can do to boost the credibility of your event to make it seem worth someone’s investment, do it. It’s not bragging; it’s business.

What’s in it for me?

That is the question any potential speaker, sponsor or attendee will ask themselves when considering your event. While it would be great for people to just want to help you out, that’s not usually how it works. Will supporting your event mean exposure for their brand? A chance to meet or connect with people they haven’t met before? A chance to promote their own work? While you don’t need to outright say “Here’s what’s in it for you”, it is essential to highlight how supporting your event is a win/win for everyone involved.

What about you? What have you learned as you’ve planned or attended events? Let us know in the comments section!

Thank you for the images Create Her Stock!

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Author: Tyece Wilkins

Tyece Wilkins is the creator and editor-in-chief of Twenties Unscripted, a blog for millennial women. She enjoys drinking red wine, reading, getting entrenched in long conversations with friends and creating customized things that she doesn’t need on Zazzle. Follow her on Tumblr: http://tyunscripted.tumblr.com/